Minister: Iran is a victim of terrorism

Published: Monday, June 21, 1999

AMMAN, Jordan {AP} Contrary to accusations that Iran supports terrorism, the Islamic country is a victim of attacks by terrorists harbored in European and other Western nations, Iran's foreign minister said Sunday.

Kamal Kharrazi accused unspecified Western nations of "harboring Iranian terrorists and giving them facilities" a reference to the dissident Mujahedeen Khalq Organization, which has offices in the United States and Europe.

The group has been behind assassinations of military officials in Tehran and attempts to kill other Iranian leaders.

Washington accuses Iran of sponsoring international terrorism and trying to acquire nuclear weapons, charges that the Iranian government rejects.

"Terrorism is an old allegation. And actually, Iran is a victim of terrorism and Iran has done its best to combat terrorism," Kharrazi said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Iran differentiates between terrorists and the Lebanese and Palestinian groups it champions, including Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon who are fighting Israeli occupation.

"We, Muslim nations that have grown, have come under such allegations," Kharrazi said. "This is used as an instrument to put pressure on us," he added, declining to elaborate.

It is "only through genuine international cooperation that this menace can be removed," he said.

Kharrazi spoke with the AP after a half-hour meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II on strengthening economic ties that have been strained during three decades of bumpy relations. He was scheduled to return to Iran later Sunday.

Kharrazi said Abdullah has not interceded to secure the freedom of 13 Iranian Jews detained by Iranian authorities in March on charges of spying for Israel and the United States.

U.S. and Israeli officials have called for their release, saying they are rabbis and religious teachers. If convicted, they could be hanged.

"This an internal Iranian issue," Kharrazi said. "They have been involved in espionage and they will be tried. ... It takes time to see what the results are."

Kharrazi is the first high-ranking official to visit Jordan since the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted Shah Reza Pahlavi, a close friend of the late King Hussein, who died four months ago.

A year later, Tehran cut off diplomatic ties with Jordan because of its support for Iraq in the 1980-88 war with Iran. Ties resumed 12 years later, but only warmed late in Hussein's reign.

Jordan has been criticized by Arabs and Muslims for its pro-Western outlook and close ties with Israel under a peace treaty signed in 1994.